Month: June 2024

I’m no Jabez

Posted on by Grace Day

Twenty some years ago, a book entitled, “The Prayer of Jabez” became very popular with people everywhere, no matter their particular religious affiliation. This book made the name of Jabez a household name, even though prior to the book being published, I have to wonder how many people were familiar with the name of Jabez or knew anything about him? I can’t say that I did. I certainly didn’t remember Jabez from any childhood Bible stories.

As it turns out, there was probably a good reason for my lack of knowledge about Jabez. He is only mentioned in three Bible verses total, those being 1 Chronicles 2:55 and 1 Chronicles 4:9&10. So why the modern day obsession with Jabez and his prayer? I turned to 1 Chronicles to read his prayer for myself in an effort to belatedly discover what all the fuss has been about in recent years. I read this –

“Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, ‘I gave birth to him in pain.’ Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, ‘Oh, that You would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let Your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.’ And God granted his request.” (1 Chronicles 4:9-10)

That’s it. That’s all we know. Jabez is never mentioned again in the Bible. So I assume since “God granted his request” that Jabez did indeed enjoy an enlarged territory and that he was protected by God’s hand and lived pain free. Doesn’t sound like my life or the life of anyone else I currently know. I feel like these words of Jesus to His disciples more accurately describe life today for me and for those around me.

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

So why don’t I just pray the prayer of Jabez? It certainly worked for him. Well, I just can’t bring myself to do it – especially the “enlarge my territory!” part. Maybe it’s because I’m mindful of these words in Luke –

“He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.” (Luke 16:10)

So I have to ask myself, am I currently faithfully using all that God has already given me, be it my money, my talents and abilities or my time in God’s service? And if not, meaning if my money, abilities and time are not fully surrendered to God now for His purposes and for His glory, why would I ask for more? In other words, if I’m not being a good steward of what God has already given me, why would I ask Him for more of anything?

Now it did say that “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers.” Perhaps this description tells us that Jabez had indeed fully surrendered all of his territory to God and therefore he was ready for and desiring of more territory, which he would also dedicate to God, to be used for God’s purposes, not his own. God must have trusted Jabez to be faithful with more as Jabez had shown himself faithful with what God had already given him, because we are told – “God granted his (Jabez’s) request.”

Why don’t I pray Jabez’s prayer? Because I’m no Jabez. If I am honest, I would admit God has given me much, certainly more than I deserve, because of His great mercy. But I don’t think “my territory” – and all that is within it, my time, abilities, finances, my heart, mind, soul and strength are fully surrendered to God twenty-four/seven. Until I learn to fully and completely surrender all that I already have, there is no reason for me to ask God for more.

I can stop looking around at what other people have and thinking that I should have that, too. I don’t want to waste time petitioning God for something more or for something other than, something different than He’s already given me. When I’m focused on what I don’t have or on what I think I should have, I ignore or I forget what God has already given me. I neglect to use, to steward and to be grateful for all that God has already placed within my territory. I fail to do what God has put right in front of me to do for Him today. I don’t need a larger territory. I need to take better care of the territory God has already given me to steward for Him. I’m no Jabez.

Then there’s Jabez’s other request – that he would be kept from harm and live “free from pain.” Even Jesus didn’t get a pass from pain while He was living here on Earth. And Jesus did ask God for that pass, so I guess it’s okay for you and I to ask also. Jesus asked this of God when He prayed in Gethsemane saying –

“Abba, Father, everything is possible for You. Take this cup from Me. Yet not what I will, but what You will.” (Mark 14:36)

Jesus was asking God to take the pain of His upcoming crucifixion away from Him. Yet even as He did this, Jesus simultaneously surrendered His will to God’s will for Him. I think I would do better to pray as Jesus prayed in this regard, rather than Jabez. Although who wouldn’t want to live life pain free? However, Peter does say this about pain –

“But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed.” (1 Peter 4:13)

And James says this –

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-3)

Then I read in Corinthians this –

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17)

Peter also says this about the pain you and I experience in this life –

“though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (1 Peter 1:6-7)

So my pain will actually result in “praise, glory and honor” to Jesus when He is revealed! And in Romans I find another positive outcome of the pain I endure now –

“Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory.” (Romans 8:17)

The privilege of sharing in Christ’s glory – that requires sharing first in His suffering. There are things that a pain free life cannot teach me. A pain free life will not conform me to the image of Christ, nor strengthen my faith, nor give me empathy, perseverance, courage or trust. The apostle, Paul, did not get a pain free life, but had his “thorn” which God did not take away from him, even when Paul asked God to remove this painful thorn. Paul understood pain and wrote these words in his letter to the church at Philippi –

“For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for Him,” (Philippians 1:29) and –

“I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:10-11)

Sharing in Christ’s sufferings will not be a pain free life BUT – quite the opposite. After all, Jesus told His disciples –

“If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also.” (John 15:20)

I will pray with King David –

“grand me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” rather than pray with Jabez that I might be exempt from all pain.

After all, I’m no Jabez. I will experience life’s pain along with its God given joys.

I’m no Jabez. I don’t need and I would be foolish to ask for, a larger territory. I still need to learn how to faithfully steward the territory God has already entrusted to me, lest that, too, be taken from me. My prayer?

Lord, shrink my territory and bring on the pain. After all, I’m no Jabez.

Lord, help me to faithfully care for the territory You have given me. Thank You for Your abiding Presence with me always. May I know Your comfort in my pain, Your peace in uncertain circumstances, Your light in this world’s darkness, Your mercy in my mistakes, Your hope in my despair, Your strength in my weakness, Your wisdom in my foolishness, Your truth in a world of deception, Your provision in my want, Your protection when evil and enemies surround me, Your voice in the stillness and in the clamor – may I know – You.

sincerely, Grace Day

has God forgotten me?

Posted on by Grace Day

Do you ever wonder what God’s up to? I mean, He said He’s coming back for us and that He will set all things right – but that was centuries ago when Jesus made those promises. The days are certainly evil. There are wars and rumors of wars. There are floods and famines. But that’s been true of life here on earth ever since Eve made her choice in the garden. It was the same condition of life Jesus found us living in when He came here two thousand years ago. And since the time Jesus ascended into heaven, things have continued in their sorry state. So it’s understandable if we humans are growing weary in the wait these days, even as we long for Jesus’s return. To us it may seem as if Jesus is being unnecessarily slow in returning to rescue us from the mess we’ve made of things. But Peter reminds us –

“The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

So what I perceive as God’s slowness or even indifference to our current human suffering, is actually God’s mercy and compassion, giving each one of us more time to come to faith in Jesus and receive His gift of forgiveness and eternal life.

During this extended period of proffered grace, God is not dilly-dallying while we are enduring the hardships of this life. No He is busy on my behalf and on your behalf, dear readers. We know this because Jesus told His disciples –

“In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:2-3)

So Jesus is busy preparing a place for me. BUT – He’s also doing something even more important simultaneously. Jesus is preparing me, in order that I might be made ready to inhabit the place that He is getting ready for me. Somehow, I think the former task is infinitely easier than the latter one. It is a really hard, painstaking process getting me prepared to take my place in heaven. No wonder Jesus is taking so long – I need a lot of work done in order to be ready for His return! Is that the case for you, too? Jesus does that work for us, described this way in Ephesians –

“. . . just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” (Ephesians 5:25-27)

That’s the preparing work Christ is doing in you and in me now so that we can be “holy and blameless”, when He comes, ready to take our pre-prepared places in heaven. But getting all my stains, wrinkles and blemishes out is quite a painful process – it is the process called “life on planet Earth.” When I am feeling overwhelmed by life’s hardships, hurts, and heartaches, I remember these words –

“For our (my) light and momentary troubles are achieving for us (me) an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17)

My preparation though painful, has a greater purpose and a good outcome. It’s like Job said when he was in the midst of a painful life trial, having lost everything, with no end in sight and no hope on the horizon –

“But He (God) knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” (Job 23:10)

Job felt like God surely must have forgotten about him because his circumstances were so dire and they continued on, even getting worse, for so long. But even so, Job trusted God to bring him through the painful preparation he was experiencing. Job believed that he would “come forth as gold” – having been cleaned from all stains and blemishes and dewrinkled – Job was now prepared to receive what God was preparing for him all along. Peter had the same kind of faith, saying this about the preparation we experience –

“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (1 Peter 1:6-7)

Here again I see that my suffering “grief in all kinds of trials” is part of the process, preparing me for what God has in store for me. God is refining my faith. It’s not pleasant, but it is necessary. And I have this promise from my Heavenly Father –

“And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To Him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 5:10-11)

Interesting that both verses refer to “suffering for a little while” because it seems much longer to me as I wait for His work to be completed in me. Does it seem that way to you, too? Still, I have this assurance –

“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)

You and I are being transformed into Christ’s likeness! (after all, we were created in His image) That’s hard work. Transformation takes time. God is continually at work in our lives, preparing you and I for the place He has already prepared for us. He does this work in order that you and I might be transformed and conformed to the likeness of Christ.

In the middle of my dark nights and painful trials, I can know that my Heavenly Father hasn’t forgotten about me at all. On the contrary, He is right here with me and I can know that –

“it is God who works in me to will and to act according to His good purpose.” (Philippians 2:13)

Has God forgotten me? Never! I have this promise, this assurance from His word.

“being confident of this, that He who began a good work in me will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)

God is working on me. Actually, God is working in me and I have His promise that He will complete the work! God will not abandon me, nor will He give up on me. I need to remember that truth when things get hard, so that I will not give up on myself and I will not give up on other people. If God doesn’t give up on us, we have no reason to give up on ourselves or on each other. After all,

“If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all – how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32)

God hasn’t forgotten me. And He hasn’t forgotten you either. He’s working on me even in the worst of my circumstances – refining my faith, building something beautiful out of the ashes of my life, washing away the stains, ironing out the wrinkles – then He will clothe me in His righteous robes when I am finally ready for the room He is preparing for me even now. God’s doing the same for you, too, dear readers.

“For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,” (Isaiah 61:10)

sincerely, Grace Day

the battle rages

Posted on by Grace Day

“In this world you will have trouble; but take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Jesus spoke those words to His disciples shortly before He was falsely accused, arrested, tried, found guilty and put to death on a cross. I wonder if His disciples recalled those words as they mourned His death following His crucifixion? At that moment in time, it certainly wouldn’t have appeared to His disciples as if Jesus had indeed overcome the world. His body lay in a tomb. It looked as though the world had won the battle.

However, only three days later, the disciples’ situation looked very different. The tomb was empty! Jesus was spending time with them! The disciples had been grieving Jesus’s death. Now they were celebrating His return, His presence with them! In seemingly an instant, everything changed. The tomb was (and is) empty. Death had been and is defeated. The disciples went from despair to hope, from doubt to faith, from disillusionment to fulfillment, from grief to joy, from fear to courage, from being abandoned and adrift to becoming bearers of the Good News. They were now Christ’s ambassadors, entrusted with carrying out His Great Commission to “go into all the world and proclaim the gospel.” The disciples were to let the world know the battle was won! Jesus had defeated death!

It is true, Jesus has defeated death, BUT – the battle is still raging today. My battle is still raging today and I’m guessing maybe yours is too? I see it and I feel it all around me. I am fighting it. I see those around me fighting it too. It is a battle fought on all fronts – physical, mental and spiritual. After all, we are triune beings, created in the image of a triune God, our Heavenly Father. So of course the enemy of our souls attacks our bodies, our minds and our spirits. I read in 1 Peter –

“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” (1 Peter 5:8-9)

And that is definitely true today. Many around the globe live in countries where they are being persecuted for their faith even as I write these words. There are famines and wars and rumors of wars all around us. The battle rages around us and within us. I might as well get used to it because this will continue until the day of Christ’s return, when He will set all things right. Jesus said the outcome of the battle is secure – He has overcome. But until He comes again – the battle continues to rage on all fronts.

The apostle Paul was familiar with doing battle – both external and internal. He described His internal battle in this way.

“For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing. . . . When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:18-25)

No wonder I am weary! I am fighting a daily battle within myself (basically I am fighting with myself) and I am fighting many battles without, simultaneously. I would wager you are too, dear readers. While good and evil face off within me, I must also face physical illnesses and challenges, (as do so many I know), face interpersonal challenges (being called to love your enemies is hard work, as is just getting along with friends, family, coworkers and strangers alike) and battle the lies of this world (which enslave) with God’s sword of truth. My Heavenly Father knows the battle is raging. That’s why He provides armor for me to wear and a weapon for me to use.

“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17)

As I watch those I know and love battle illness, loss, loneliness, lies, hurt, fear, depression, anxiety, persecution etc., I watch our world battle with hatred, cruelty, violence, lies, poverty, fear and persecution simultaneously. There seems to be no peace from the battle at present anywhere I look. BUT – it makes a difference where I look. When I look to Jesus while I am in the midst of the many battles I seem to be fighting today and every day, I can “take heart” from these words of Jesus, spoken to His disciples before He sent them out into the world where He knew they would face many battles – trouble, hardship, persecution, rejection, unbelief –

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)

Yes, the battle is raging all around me BUT – Jesus tells me not to be troubled or afraid. My Heavenly Father doesn’t call me to live my life in fear, but rather to live my life with courage, as I face and fight the battles that surround me. After all, He has given me His sword of the Spirit with which to fight each lie, each loss, each assault and accusation. I can know –

“For our (my) light and momentary troubles are achieving for us (me) an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17)

I have His instructions for battle from centuries ago, still applicable for today –

“Moses answered the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.’ ” (Exodus 14:13-14)

A good battle plan for me and for you, too – don’t be afraid, stand firm, wait on God, trust God, be still, let Him fight for me, let it be His strength, His way and His will that wins all the battles in my life. Let the victory be His alone!

I have His promise –

“And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To Him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 5:10-11)

I remember that –

“The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.” (Psalm 18:2-3)

yes, the battle rages – BUT – I will put on the full armor of God, stand firm, be still, trust God, wait on God – the battle is His –

“This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. . . . You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’ ” (2 Chronicles 20:15-17)

As I fight my many battles, I need to remember these words from Chronicles. I don’t have to be discouraged or afraid even though the challenges and obstacles are many. (they seem like a vast army for sure) God simply asks me to show up – to take my position, to stand firm, and then I will have a front row seat to witness God’s deliverance. God calls me to face the enemy, (be it illness, lies, hatred, injustice, cruelty, division, betrayal, persecution) while assuring me that He will be with me when I do.

After all, my Heavenly Father is a God who does the unimaginable, the impossible – even when the battle rages. King David knew this, which may be why he said this about God-

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” (Psalm 23:5)

King David knew a thing or two about fighting battles. He fought the giant Goliath as well as many physical battles with horses, chariots and armies of men. He fought interpersonal battles with members of his own household and he fought spiritual battles within himself, eventually crying out to God –

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10)

As for me, when all my battles have ceased, I want to be able to say –

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7-8)

today, while the battle rages, I will stand firm, I will take up the sword of the Spirit with confidence, knowing Jesus has said – “but take heart! I have overcome the world.”

sincerely, Grace Day

the gift of an unexpected encounter

Posted on by Grace Day

That’s what I had this morning on my solitary prayer walk – an unexpected encounter of the best kind. I say this because there are “unexpected encounters” that do not make our day better, but instead make our day more difficult or more painful than it otherwise would have been without the encounter. However, this was not one of those encounters that brings one down, leaving you discouraged or even distraught. No, this encounter was pure joy, just the encouragement I needed on this ordinary day, this mundane morning, to lift my soul in thanks to God for His unexpected gift of this encounter.

You see, I was walking weary – not weary of body but weary of spirit. I was weary in prayer because the needs are so numerous and the burdens so heavy – alone it is easy to feel overwhelmed. This in spite of the fact that I know “nothing is too hard for God.” I was feeling weak until our paths crossed (literally) and everything changed. Now full disclosure, our paths had crossed once before just recently, where I had acknowledged to her that I wasn’t talking to myself as I walked, but to God. I guess I felt the need to explain my odd behavior to a stranger so I wouldn’t be thought weird.

To my surprise, I received complete understanding instead of a bewildered or a judgmental response. Turns out, she’s a prayer walker too! So, no explanation needed. Which brings me to this morning, when our paths crossed again and she remembered my name! We talked briefly. She shared a prayer request which gave me the courage to share a prayer burden of mine, so close to my heart that it is too painful to share with others, so I don’t. But I shared it with her this morning. My load was lightened. My burden wasn’t gone, but it was borne by another besides myself. Reminded me of this instruction from Galatians –

“Bear one another’s burdens; and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)

I walked on feeling lighter, while thanking God for this good gift, this unexpected encounter. As I continued walking and talking (which is to say praying) I was reminded of something that happened to Moses that seems relevant to me today. The story is told in Exodus about Joshua and the Israelites fighting the Amalekites. It happened like this –

“The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, ‘Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.’ So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up – one on one side, one on the other – so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.” (Exodus 17:8-13)

Moses was weak, he grew tired from having to keep his hands raised while the battle went on below him. But Moses wasn’t alone. Aaron and Hur were with him. They lifted him up. They fought the battle with him. That’s how it is with prayer. We lift each other up to God in prayer. When the enemy seems to be winning and I feel too defeated, too tired, too weak to pray, I am sustained by the knowledge that others are praying for me until I can again take my place on the wall and cry out to God.

This I do gladly for others, praying for those weak and wounded souls who are too weary to pray for themselves, feeling far from God until they come to know just how near He really is. This morning, I felt my faith strengthened, knowing someone else was praying with me for a specific, impossible mountain to be moved. I think this is something the enemy of our souls fears – us bearing each other’s burdens in prayer. Probably because he knows our faith, even if only a mustard seed amount, moves mountains and he knows –

“The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16)

We all have mountains in our lives that need moving. It is prayer that will move them. What a privilege to pray with others for their mountains to move even as they pray with me for the moving of my mountains. When I pray with and for others, I am essentially holding up their hands to God, when like Moses, they have become too weary to raise their hands themselves. And I am grateful for all the times others come alongside me in prayer, holding up my hands when I am too tired to continue holding them up to God myself. I am told to –

“pray continually” and “always keep on praying for all the saints.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17 & Ephesians 6:18)

I thank God for my unexpected encounter today, encouraging me in my prayer walk to keep on praying, never giving up, knowing that someone else is praying too. Together we are calling down the kingdom as we pray individually and collectively –

“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Today, I encountered a stranger and found a sister! (we even share a favorite movie, “War Room”) Thank You, Heavenly Father!

sincerely, Grace Day

believing God for the unbelievable

Posted on by Grace Day

Abraham did. I want to do that too. But it’s hard – really hard sometimes. My problem is (well, ok I have lots of them, “them” being problems) but pertaining to this issue my problem is that I am walking/living by sight even though God’s word is clear – I am to walk by faith. And my sight isn’t all that great anymore anyhow, so walking by faith makes more sense than it ever has. BUT – walking by faith takes guts. Walking by faith takes unwavering courage when everything around you demands that you doubt what God has told you in His living Word to believe.

Such was the situation for Abraham. God called Abraham and made him a fantastical (is that a word?) promise. God asked Abraham to believe the unbelievable.

the call? –

“The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.’ ” (Genesis 12:1)

the promise? –

“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:2-3)

the problem? –

“But Abram said, ‘O Sovereign Lord, what can You give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?’ And Abram said, ‘You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.’ ” (Genesis 15:2-3)

You see the problem now, don’t you, dear readers? Abraham didn’t have any children. He had only one wife, Sarah, (in those days men often had multiple wives) and she was barren, which is to say, infertile. So they had no children and now they were both old, way beyond the childbearing years. And yet God had the audacity to tell Abraham this –

the promise repeated –

“Then the word of the Lord came to him: ‘This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir.’ He (God) took him (Abraham) outside and said, ‘Look up at the heavens and count the stars – if indeed you can count them.’ Then He said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ ” (Genesis 15:4-5)

Just imagine it – a childless old man, Abraham, with an old and barren wife, being told that he was going to have a biological child with his wife and not only that (as if one child wouldn’t be miracle enough) BUT – also, his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky, which are too numerous to count! Unlikely? Unrealistic? Unbelievable? And yet Abraham believed God! Abraham believed despite the reality of his current circumstances. Abraham believed God for the unbelievable. How do I know this? I read Abraham’s response to God in Genesis 15:6 –

“Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.”

Abraham believed God for the unbelievable! And time went by. Still no children. Abraham was now ninety-nine years old. Things don’t seem to be moving in the right direction if his descendants are to be as numerous as the stars. BUT – God is faithful to fulfill His promises!

God’s covenant confirmed –

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I am God Almighty, walk before Me and be blameless. I will confirm My covenant between Me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.’ Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, ‘As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.’ ” (Genesis 17:1-6)

What must Abraham have thought about God’s promise to make him “very fruitful” even though he and Sarah continued to remain childless? It just didn’t seem possible. And yet –

“God also said to Abraham, ‘As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.’ ” (Genesis 17:15-16)

Abraham doubts –

“Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, ‘Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?’ ” (Genesis 17:17)

God reassures –

“Then God said, ‘Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.’ ” (Genesis 17:19)

And so it happened just as God had promised –

“Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what He had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him.” (Genesis 21:1-3)

So, mission accomplished, right? Well, their son was a miraculous gift from God. However, one child seems like a long way off from the promise of descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. Still, Abraham believed God even when his faith was put to another test only a few years later. God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. God was testing Abraham’s trust and obedience. God’s request made no sense, given that Abraham’s descendants were supposed to be “as numerous as the stars” and Isaac was Abraham’s one and only descendant at this time.

But Abraham obeyed God and headed up the mountain with Isaac and wood for the fire. Abraham believed God in spite of his current situation and obeyed God’s instructions for the sacrifice of his only son, Isaac. It was then that an angel of the Lord intervened saying –

” ‘Do not lay a hand on the boy,’ he said. ‘Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from Me your son, your only son.’ ” (Genesis 22:12)

then God repeats His promise to Abraham –

” ‘I swear by Myself,’ declares the Lord, ‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed Me.’ ” (Genesis 22:

Abraham had God’s promise. He believed God for the unbelievable – descendants as numerous as the stars and the grains of sand even though he had only one child with Sarah, Isaac. One would think having many children would predict a better fulfillment of God’s promise, but Abraham trusted God to do the impossible. Fast forward several generations later – Isaac had twin sons, Essau and Jacob. Jacob had twelve sons and they all had families – Abraham’s descendants are increasing. They all ended up in Egypt because of a famine and we read this about them in Exodus –

“The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all;” – that’s when they arrived in Egypt. Next we read – “Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, but the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them.” (Genesis 1:5,7)

The increasing numbers of Abraham’s descendants caused the current king of Egypt to fear them and so he enslaved them, oppressing them with forced labor. But Exodus 1:12-13 tells us what happened to the Israelites during the time they were slaves in Egypt.

“But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly.”

It looks like God’s promise to Abraham is coming true. Abraham’s descendants are becoming more numerous, even when conditions are less than good for them under Egyptian rule. The Israelites, Abraham’s descendants, would eventually leave Egypt, only to wander in the desert for forty years, before settling in their homeland. The number of Abraham’s descendants continued to increase through wars, through exile to Babylon, to the time of Christ’s birth and continues to grow to this day. God is still fulfilling His original promise to Abraham today.

Remember that God told Abraham – “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”? Well, that part of the promise was realized when Jesus, the Messiah, the Savior of the world was born. Jesus was born through Abraham’s line of descendants. That’s what God meant when He told Abraham that all people would be blessed through him. Through Abraham’s descendants, God’s blessing of a Redeemer for all mankind came.

I’m glad a childless old man, with an old and barren wife, believed God for the unbelievable – that his descendants would be too numerous to count and that all nations would be blessed because of him. Abraham not only believed BUT – “So Abram left, as the Lord had told him;” – he left his country, his people, his father’s household and followed God.

I don’t know about you, dear readers, but I want to believe God for the unbelievable things in my life that will happen when I, like Abraham, believe God for the unbelievable and take the action that God calls me to take. God’s call to Abraham was clear.

“Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1)

God’s call to me is no less clear today. I just need to turn the volume down on everything else, listen and respond. The number of Abraham’s descendants is continuing to grow larger day by day in fulfillment of God’s original promise to him. You and I have the opportunity to be part of that promise as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the grains of sand on the beach, because we know –

“If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:29)

You and I are God’s heirs! We can believe God for the unbelievable! Like Abraham, I will not believe in my circumstances determining the outcome. I will believe instead in God’s promises, which are always true!

“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)

sincerely, Grace Day